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Today in Washington: A big test for immigration bill

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U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is among Republicans fighting back today against GOP critics who are trying to defeat the landmark immigration reform bill he helped author. The bill faces its first big test today with a series of votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
(AP File, 2011)

Washington -- The landmark immigration reform bill written by a bipartisan group of senators faces its first big test today when the Senate Judiciary Committee begins its first votes on the legislation.

The committee will consider as many as 300 amendments, starting with proposals today that would improve border security and set out the specific goals that 11 million immigrants will have to meet before they are given a path to citizenship, Bloomberg News reports today.

Almost two-thirds of the amendments were filed by Republicans, who are increasingly divided on the immigration reform plan. U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., has become the leading opponent of the bill, dueling with supporters such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who helped author the legislation.

The Judiciary Committee will likely take several days to go through the first group of amendments to 844-page bill. Today's hearing will focus on about 40 proposed changes.

Today's action on the bill follows the release of a report Wednesday by the Social Security Administration that said the immigration reforms would likely boost the Social Security trust fund over the next 10 years by adding 3.2 million jobs and increasing the nation's gross domestic product by 1.63 percent.